My Heart Will Go On
by Ink Spotz
Summary: When the Titanic sank, Jack Dawson's body was preserved in ice. In the 1980's, some explorers stumble across his frozen body. They bring it above surface only for him to come alive again. Jack figures out that he isn't in 1912 anymore and that Rose is in her eighties now. He loves Rose still, but he is way younger than her. Will Jack live in the past or will his heart go on?
1. That Sinking Feeling

**AN: This is my first Titanic FanFiction. I know that I changed Jack's death and that some of the things that I have written in this fic can't happen in real life, but please just enjoy the story and don't worry about the picky details. And as always, please review! I love feedback! I hope you all enjoy this story! :D**

* * *

Chapter 1

I could feel myself sinking into the inky dark depths of the water as the Titanic sunk under the waves. The water was quickly seeping through my lips which had slipped open due to my lack of strength. The surface of the water wavered above me, a tangible mirror of broken images. I could hear the muted cries of other passengers as the ship continued to snap, sending off thunderous sounds. Chunks of the iceberg that we hit were passing my body as I sank deeper. They coldly rushed past me, nicking my ice cold legs.

This icy water was reminding me of the time in my childhood when I had fallen through some thin ice. I had told Rose that it had felt like knives were stabbing you from a hundred different directions and I was right. The sensation of painful pin pricks that I was feeling all over my body felt like I was being brutally stabbed. The air was being forced from my lungs and I gagged as the salty, icy water was replacing my depleted air supply. This ocean was where I would draw my final breath and die.

At least Rose was safe. She had cried tears of love and pain, claiming that she would never let go. I knew she didn't want me to leave. I certainly didn't want to leave her, but I knew that I couldn't be saved. I knew this would happen to me. I had to cut the cord between us fast and surely to cause her the least amount of pain possible.

I felt my limp body hit something underwater. It felt like a plank of the Titanic. My chest felt heavy as I struggled to breathe. The pieces of the iceberg rained down on me like gigantic pieces of hail. I felt a piece land on my chest, forcing what little air was left in my lungs out of my body. I gasped, the weight of the piece of ice making it difficult to breathe. Water flooded my mouth and went down to my lungs. I couldn't breathe anymore. As more pieces of the iceberg settled on me, I lost consciousness and passed into the world of death.

* * *

"I'm getting so frustrated!" shouted Erwin as he shook the blank monitor in front of him. "All we've been seeing for the past four hours is nothing but ocean!"

Erwin was the head captain of the mission to explore the Titanic wreckage. The problem that he was facing was that he was given the wrong coordinates. He was lost in the middle of the ocean, having no idea where the Titanic's final resting place really was.

"It's alright Sir. I think we're close now," said his partner, Daryl.

"How do you know that we're getting close? You're just as lost as I am!" shouted Erwin.

"I just have a feeling sir," said Daryl shyly, looking down at his feet.

"You have a feeling..." muttered Erwin in disgust.

Suddenly a beeping could be heard from the monitor. Erwin turned away from Daryl and focused on the monitor. Coming into view was the bow of a ship, eroded by years of being underneath the sea, yet still majestic as it was the day it made its maiden voyage.

"There she is!" exclaimed Erwin in pleasure.

He rose from his seat and before he went on deck, he turned to Daryl and said, "Remind me to take you to Vegas sometime. We'll have to try your "feelings" there."

Daryl smiled as Erwin bounded past him and up the stairs of the ship. When he got on deck, he started yelling out commands to the crew members who were standing around.

"Stop this ship! We've found her!"

Quickly the crew members walked about the ship, making it come to a halt. Erwin walked to the edge of the railing and leaned over to look at the majestic aqua waves. He couldn't believe that they had finally found it.

"Daryl! Get the equipment ready!" shouted out Erwin.

Daryl managed to have the equipment ready within a matter of seconds. Erwin took it from him and helped to lower the equipment into the water. Daryl, who had the controls, started to make the waterproof camera submerged beneath the watery surface.

"To the monitors!' shouted Erwin as he ran back below deck to where the monitors were.

Erwin took a seat in front of the monitors as Daryl stood behind him. Daryl kept the controls in his hands and directed the camera toward the wreckage. As the light from the camera swept the deck of the Titanic, a sight at the corner of the camera's view caught Erwin's attention.

"What's that?" he asked as he pressed one of his oily fingers on the right hand corner of the screen.

"Well, we'll soon find out," said Daryl as he directed the camera toward it.

He drove the camera toward the thing that had caught Erwin's attention. As the image came into view, they saw that it was a chunk of somewhat solidified ice containing a human body.

"Oh my word!" exclaimed Erwin in a slow voice. "We have stumbled upon the jackpot of all jackpots! Use the claw and see if you can drag the body to the surface!"

Daryl turned and shot Erwin a look.

"The camera is only about as big as my two fists put together, it will not be able to handle the weight of that iced body," stated Daryl.

"Well figure out a way that we can get that body to the surface and ASAP! We have just stumbled upon the mother load of all finds! Do you realize what kind of publicity we'll get? I can see the headlines now!" Erwin leaned back in his chair and slowly passed his hand through the air. "'Erwin and partner discover one of the lost souls of the Titanic."

Daryl shot him another dirty look.

Erwin saw the look and said, "So the headline title needs a little work! I'm not a journalist!"

Daryl rolled his eyes, in disbelief that Erwin was so daft, and went back to controlling the camera.

"We could try to lower the crane down and see if we could pull the ice up that way," suggested Daryl.

"Well then get to work!" shouted Erwin.

"You have two hands? Aren't you going to help?" asked Daryl rising an eyebrow.

Erwin let out a sigh, but rose from his chair and walked up onto the deck again. Erwin and Daryl walked to the rear of the ship where a huge crane was stationed.

"Help man the crane and stop standing there!" barked Erwin as the men snapped out of their trances and raced to help with the crane.

With the help of many hands, the crane was soon hovering its hook above the water, ready to be lowered. All of the men grabbed the lever and started to lower the hook into the water.

"Daryl! Go back to the monitors and shout when we're on top of it!" commanded Erwin.

Daryl quickly let go of the lever and ran off to go obey his orders. Daryl was racing so fast to obey orders that he almost slipped once and landed on his face. Finally Daryl made it below deck and over to the monitors. He could see the hook being lowered down, getting closer and closer to the chunk of ice.

"Ho!" shouted Daryl as loud as he could when the hook hit the ice, chipping it slightly.

Daryl saw the hook stop moving and rest right on top of the ice.

"Tell us how to hook it!" came Erwin's faint voice from above deck.

"Alright! Move it just a hair to the left!"

The hook moved a hair to the left like Daryl had instructed, leaving behind it a wake of small scratches on the surface of the ice.

"Now move it upward about an inch!"

The hook moved upward an inch until it snagged the top of the ice chunk.

"Now pull it sharply and strongly forward!"

The hook moved quickly and soon hit the ice chunk with such a force that the hook imbedded itself into the ice.

"You've snagged her! Now pull upward!"

"Come help us out dim wit!" barked Erwin.

"Oh right!" exclaimed Daryl as he ran above deck and over to the struggling men.

"How could...a piece of ice...this size...possibly remain unmelted for so long?" asked Erwin in between short pauses as he tried to catch his breath.

"Don't know. Nature is strange sometimes," said Daryl as the ice chunk started to peek above water.

The ice was swung over the deck of the ship and was lowered as gently as it could be to rest on the boards of the deck.

Erwin, Daryl and the rest of the crew clustered around the ice. Underneath many layers of frost, they could visibly see the face of a human male. He had his eyes closed as if in sleep. His blond hair was streaked with light blue from the pieces of frozen hair. His lips were an unnatural color of bluish purple. His clothes consisted of a vanilla colored shirt and light brown pants which clung to his body due to the frozen water entombing him.

"Poor soul! Died of hypothermia," commented Daryl.

"Unfortunately his lost is our gain! Wait until we get this to a museum!" declared Erwin with enthusiasm, as he wrapped his arm around Daryl in a half hug.

"Hate to put a damper on things, but how are we going to keep this ice frozen until we get back to the main land? It'll take us at least two to three days," said Daryl matter-of-factly.

"I'm sure we have no reason to worry. Do you see how thick this ice is?" asked Erwin as he took his arm off Daryl and rapped a fist on the frosty surface of the ice. "We're going to be headed back now and I can guarantee you that it will not melt. Now lets tether the ice down so it doesn't slide overboard."

Erwin, Daryl, and the crew went to work securing the ice's position with ropes. They ran the ropes over the ice and then tied it to poles nearby.

"Drive us back home!" shouted Erwin to the captain of the ship, who probably already heard the ruckus and was changing courses. Erwin turned back to Daryl and gave him a friendly half hug once more. "We've done it! We've really done it!"

As Erwin directed Daryl back down deck where they could celebrate and the crew went back to running the ship, nobody paid heed to the body encased in ice anymore. No one saw the small rivers of water that were dripping off the icy body as the ice started to melt.


	2. Awakening

Chapter 2

Rose.

Her name was still tingling at the edge of my mind. How I loved her. My heart ached for her even though I knew I was dead. I guess love does last, even in death.

I wonder what death was suppose to be like. I thought it was suppose to be something that was immediate. I didn't think death made you linger in darkness for what felt like an eternity, because that was what I was doing. I was trapped in darkness, my thoughts tourturing me with what ifs and I wonder questions. Was death suppose to be filled with this uncertainity? I thought death was suppose to make you rest in peace.

My beautiful Rose.

An unnatural chill clutched my body, causing every part of my body to tingle with pain. Shouldn't the pain be over with if I was dead? I could feel the pain inside my lungs even, the water that I had swallowed was becoming unsettled inside me. Why was I so cold? I should be numb to the cold by now.

My hands and legs flared with a fiery pain as feeling came back to them. Maybe I had to go through this pain to finally be able to rest in peace. If so, I was as ready as I would ever be. I would wait for Rose on the other side. That was all I could do. No matter how much I wanted to be with her, I couldn't be with her again in this life. I wish I could.

The water that was in my lungs started to rush up my throat. I gagged on it as it entered my mouth. I spit out what little seemed to be able to come out through my lips. The pain that was engulfing every part of my body seemed to be eating away at me. I winced in pain. The tingling pain was just seeming to get worse and worse.

Rose. Oh my sweet, sweet Rose. I love you.

The pain became so intense that I passed out.

* * *

Erwin slammed his glass onto the table again as he finished off his third glass. Daryl stared at Erwin with a weary eye as Erwin leaned back in his chair and let out a raucous laugh.

"I can't believe our luck! Lady luck must think we're charmers!" said Erwin before letting off another sudden burst of laughter.

"Don't get too carried away now," said Daryl. "We still have to get this ice block to the museum in one piece."

"Like we won't be able to do that! It stayed frozen underneath the Atlantic Ocean for decades! It can't possibly melt before we get it home in three days time!" exclaimed Erwin.

"Like I said before, nature is strange sometimes," said Daryl, worrying that the ice would melt before they got home and they'd be left with a smelly corpse.

* * *

Later that night, Daryl tossed and turned on his bed. He couldn't sleep. It wasn't because he was at sea either. Normally the lull of the waves helped to put him to sleep, but not tonight. Daryl tried to close his eyes for about the hundredth time that night, but still couldn't manage to drift away into the land of dreams. Erwin on the other hand was snoring from across the room, fast asleep and no doubt dreaming about the fame that he would have once they got home.

Groaning, Daryl sat up and threw his bare feet over the side of the cot. Maybe if he walked around on deck in the crisp night air it would clear his head enough to help him finally get to sleep. Daryl got up from his cot and walked to the door, making sure he was careful in opening it. The last thing he wanted to do was awake Erwin and deal with his rage.

As Daryl walked about the deck of the ship, taking deep breaths of the cold air, he looked over the rail. The midnight blue ocean waves lapped at the sides of the mammoth ship, rocking it gently back and forth. The deck of the ship was mostly deserted for the night, only a couple of crew members lumbered sleepily about the ship.

Daryl walked toward where they had tethered the ice down. As he approached it, his bare feet stepped in a small puddle of water. Why was there water on the deck of the ship? They hadn't been in a storm. That was when the truth hit Daryl, awakening all his senses. He raced toward where the ice block was. Once he rounded the corner of the ship and the ice block came into sight, Daryl dropped his jaw in shock. The ice block was no more. Now all that covered the deck was a puddle of water, little trails of it making its way all over the deck. In the middle of the puddle lay the body of the once frozen boy.

Daryl slowly walked toward the body, which lay limp in the water, his head to the side. This was what he feared would happen. It wasn't nearly as cold as it was beneath the surface of the water. He paused inches away from the motionless body, wondering if he would be forced to throw the body overboard before it started smelling. Daryl reached out a shaking hand to touch him and move his body. As soon as Daryl touched him, he gagged. Daryl jumped back in shock as the boy threw up more of the water that was in his body. He groaned and his eyes fluttered open. Daryl watched as the boy's sea blue eyes swept his surroundings, clearly confused.

"Where am I?" he moaned. "Is this Heaven?"

"No," said Daryl, trying to remain calm.

"Well then where am I?" he asked again.

"You're on a ship called 'The Night Star'," replied Daryl.

"So, we're rescued from the Titanic?" he asked with a sudden burst of enthusiasm. "Where's Rose? Have you seen her?"

"I'm sorry sir, but I don't know any rose except the flower," replied Daryl.

"No, she couldn't have died..." he murmured as he closed his eyes once more.

"What's your name?" asked Daryl as he knelt next to him, placing his hand gently on his shoulder.

"Jack Dawson," he replied.

"Well Jack Dawson, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but..."

"Please...if she's dead, don't tell me. I can't bear it."

A single tear slipped out of his closed eye. Daryl smiled a compassionate smile and said, "No, it's not that. It's possible that your Rose could still be alive. If she did get saved from the Titanic, she's probably in her eighties by now, but she's probably still alive somewhere."

"Wait, what do you mean she's probably in her eighties?" asked Jack as his eyes flew open again. He searched Daryl's green eyes with his own, trying to look for an answer.

"I mean this isn't 1912 anymore," said Daryl. "It's 1980."

"No, it can't be," muttered Jack, fear present in his eyes.

Suddenly Jack started to shiver from the cold. Daryl realized that Jack must be cold from being frozen in ice for decades.

"Here let me help you up," offered Daryl.

He placed one of Jack's soaking wet arms around his shoulder and hefted him to his feet. That didn't last for long. Soon Jack and Daryl found themselves on the floor of the deck.

"I can't feel my feet still," moaned Jack, shivering violently.

"That's okay. I'll carry you," said Daryl.

Daryl scooped Jack up in his arms and started to carry him below deck to where there were blankets. As Daryl carried Jack below deck, Jack looked up at Daryl and said, "Thank you for being so kind to me."

Before Daryl could reply, Jack fainted, the cold too much for Jack's body to handle.

"It'll be okay," said Daryl to the unconscious Jack. "I just wonder how Erwin will react in the morning when he finds you."

Daryl kicked open one of the doors with his foot and laid Jack down on one of the empty cots. He saw some blankets on a nearby shelf.

Daryl didn't need Jack dying of hypothermia so he wrapped the blankets around Jack to get him warm. As Daryl finished wrapping up Jack in the blankets, he was struck with how to deal with Erwin. He had to hide Jack from Erwin. He didn't want Jack to become a spectacle if Erwin believed Daryl's tale. Daryl would have to make up some story for Erwin to explain what happened to the iced body. Sitting on the floor across the room and curling his knees up under his chin, Daryl thought of what he was going to tell Erwin once morning came.


End file.
